Wei Chen frowned and waited for Sheng Wei to continue.
Sheng Wei said bitterly: "Yesterday someone came from the governor's office and told me that amber wine has been included in the tribute list of Jiangnan Province! From this year on, every October, one hundred jars of the original wine will be escorted to the governor's office and bought.
."
Of course Wei Chen knew that the so-called Hemai meant trading goods according to the quantity and price specified by the government. But judging from Sheng Wei's ugly face, it was clear that Hemai was not a good person this time.
"How much does the government give?" Wei Chen asked hurriedly.
"Three taels."
"Three taels?"
Wei Chen's eyes widened: "A jar of raw wine is 600 jins, and the cost alone costs five taels of silver. One hundred jars is 60,000 jins. The income could have been tens of thousands taels, but now the loss is 200 taels. Besides,
How much amber wine can our winery make in a year?"
"Last year, it was more than 60,000 kilograms..." Sheng Wei said solemnly: "Anyway, we can't survive it. Now there is only one month left before the day of purchase. How can we make it in time?"
"Didn't uncle explain it to the person from the yamen?" Wei Chen stared at Sheng Wei and said angrily: "This is not about drinking, this is about life!"
"Of course I did." Sheng Wei sighed: "But the man said that he was under the orders of the governor's Yamen and could not tolerate bargaining."
"What about the Shanda people in Yangzhou?"
"I have written a letter, and Brother Hong said... He said that he is now at the critical moment of being promoted to a capital official, so he cannot cause trouble. Besides, the other party is the governor's yamen and cannot afford to offend him. He advised me to endure this tone and prosper the family's property.
There are so many, at worst, it’s as if I’ve never had this winery before…”
Having said this, Sheng Wei couldn't help but blush.
"Just pretend that you have never been to this winery before," Sheng Hong said lightly, but how could he understand how much effort Sheng Wei put into the winery?
Sheng Wei was also frustrated with his cousin and had no other options, so he came to Wei Chen for discussion, hoping that Wei Chen could give him some advice.
Sheng Wei said frustratedly: "I used to think that paying tribute was so far away, so why did we have to do it?"
Wei Chen calmed down and became more calm than Sheng Wei: "People are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of getting strong. When they are fattened, they will naturally be slaughtered. This has been the case in all dynasties. It is not unusual at all. I just didn't expect..., ha."<
/p>
When Wei Chen said this, the look of ridicule and disdain on his face flashed away.
I didn’t expect that Sheng Hong would be so unreliable!
The reason why he chose Shengwei to cooperate in operating amber wine was because he valued Shengwei's business ability and the official background behind Shengwei.
Sheng Wei is Sheng Hong's cousin, and the Sheng Family Trading Company is controlled by Sheng Hong, the general magistrate of Yangzhou. This is a well-known fact in Jiangnan Province.
Therefore, no matter whether it is the yamen or other commercial firms, they will give Sheng Wei three points of favor when doing things.
Who knows when the real thing is coming, Sheng Wei is still running around looking for a solution to the situation, but his backer Sheng Hong is the first to shrink back.
"The mountains that support you will fall, and everyone who relies on you will grow old. In the end, you can only rely on yourself!"
Wei Chen sighed, completely disappointed with Sheng Hong. He closed his eyes and concentrated, thinking about how to deal with it.
After a long time, Wei Chen opened his eyes and asked: "Uncle, you said it was someone from the governor's office who wanted to buy it. Do you have any official documents?"
Sheng Wei shook his head and said: "There is no official document. I just show the seal and the person informs me orally. But the Master Huang who came to deliver the message is indeed a person close to Mr. Futai, and he is usually trusted by Mr. Futai. He said that he would let me
Go back and make preparations first, and wait until the day of unlucky, and there will be an official document issued."
“Not even official documents?”
Wei Chen narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said firmly: "Uncle, I think there is probably a ghost here!"
"You mean, that person falsely conveyed Master Futai's orders?"
Sheng Wei was taken aback, and then hesitantly said: "How dare Master Huang have so much courage? Isn't he afraid of being exposed? Besides, he bears the seal of Lord Futai, which cannot be faked!" Wei Chen's eyes were cold and he said: "It is still unknown whether Futai's order is fake or not, but it is not difficult to know whether there is an official document. The list of tributes was all set by the capital, and the governor's yamen only handled it. How is it?
Ask someone to go to Beijing and find out."
"That's all it can do."
Sheng Wei hesitated for a moment, and finally agreed with Wei Chen's idea. At least if he followed Wei Chen's method, he could still have hope.
……
Upon learning that the teacher's only disciple was visiting, Shen Du, the prefect of Jiangning, cordially received Wei Chen in his private residence.
In front of this senior brother, Wei Chen had nothing to hide, and immediately told Shen Du exactly what happened to Amber Wine.
After hearing this, Shen Du twisted his beard and said, "I have indeed seen the name of amber wine in this year's tribute list."
"How much tribute are we asked to pay in the list?" Wei Chen asked hurriedly.
"That's not what I said."
Shen Du shook his head and said: "There are some secrets here. Public announcements generally do not mention the specific number and price. Only officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs and local authorities know."
"It's just..." He paused and then said: "The list of imperial tributes changes from time to time, but when it is included in the tribute list for the first time, the amount will not be too large at first, and then it will be added year by year depending on the situation.
, it’s really unreasonable to ask for so much at once.”
Shen Du has been an official for many years and knows many hidden rules in tributes. However, he was worried that Wei Chen was too young and inexperienced in the world, so he did not explain everything in detail, but only revealed a little bit about it.
After listening to Shen Du's words, Wei Chen became more and more convinced that there was something fishy about this so-called Hemai, so he shamelessly pestered Shen Du and said: "Brother, you must have many familiar fellow countrymen, classmates, and colleagues in Beijing. Can you Can you help me find out?"
"You kid..."
Shen Du didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but finally nodded and said: "For the sake of the teacher, I will put some effort into asking someone from the same year in Beijing to ask. Speaking of which, I happen to have a good friend in the Ministry of Finance."
"Great!"
Wei Chen was excited when he heard Shen Du agreed.
Shen Du has always been vigorous and resolute in his work, so he immediately ordered someone to submit pen and ink, preparing to revise a book and send it to the capital.
Shen Du dipped his pen in the ink and was about to put it down when he suddenly slowly put the pen down. He said thoughtfully: "It takes at least half a month to send a letter to Beijing and back. Maybe it doesn't have to be so troublesome. ”
Wei Chen was slightly startled: "Senior brother, do you have any good ideas?"
Shen Du pondered: "I have been working with the governor for two years. Although our governor Liu has some shortcomings in private, he has always cherished his reputation the most. Logically speaking, he would not squeeze the people like this."
Wei Chen said in surprise: "Senior brother, what you mean is..., the problem doesn't lie with Governor Liu?"
Shen Du nodded slowly: "You said earlier, what is the name of the person who came to deliver the governor's command?"
"The surname is Huang, he is the master of the governor's Yamen."
"There are quite a few masters in the governor's office. Well, the one with the surname Huang seems to have some impression... I understand, it turns out to be him!"
Shen Du gently raised his hand, turned to look at Wei Chen and smiled lightly: "There is no need to send people to Beijing, I will take care of this for you tomorrow."